


If Love is Pain, Let's Hurt Tonight

by mochegato



Series: If Love Is Pain [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Maribat - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, F/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:09:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29972334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochegato/pseuds/mochegato
Summary: Marinette goes to her very good friend, Roy's apartment to seeking a bit of comfort over her latest failed relationship, but she ends up finding something more.
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Roy Harper
Series: If Love Is Pain [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2205897
Comments: 20
Kudos: 73





	If Love is Pain, Let's Hurt Tonight

“Here's to the painful, miserable, pointless, painful experience that is love,” Marinette held up her shot glass waiting for Roy to join. 

Roy didn’t keep her waiting long. He raised his glass to match hers, letting out a grunt of agreement before slamming back the drink. He set the glass back down and studied her for a moment. She didn’t seem sad anymore, which was good. He didn’t want to have to console a sad Marinette, and honestly that guy wasn’t worth her tears. Instead, she seemed resigned after her break up, more lonely than missing him.

Roy knew what had happened as soon as she showed up at his door with a bottle of liquor and a broken smile. He let her in so she had a supportive place to get over it, better here with him than alone at a bar somewhere, but he wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t glad they finally broke up. That asshole wasn’t good enough for her. What the hell was a stock broker anyway? Made up, bullshit job. He never realized the gift he had in her.

Roy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You said painful twice.”

“I didn’t say it enough,” she looked at him pointedly and poured another shot for them both. “Here's to crappy dates and worse relationships.” She raised her glass again. He nodded and matched her, raising his shot before drinking.

He filled their glasses again and raised his glass this time. “Here’s to loveless loved ones that make you feel unworthy and unlovable.”

“Heyyyyyy,” she brightened at his participation and raised her glass in agreement and drank. She filled their glasses again before raising hers. “Here’s to looking for love in all the wrong places and not finding it where you want it.”

Roy eyed her wryly and raised his glass to drink. He knew all about not finding love where you wanted to find it. He looked away from her to fill the glasses again, trying to remember if he had restocked his liquor supply recently because they were going through this bottle awfully quickly. “Here’s to falling in love with villains,” he offered raising his glass. He may have gotten Lian out of it, but that was the _only_ good thing about that relationship.

He raised the drink to his lips but stopped, noticing that Marinette didn’t do the same. He raised an eyebrow at her lack of participation. She had an adorable pout as she contemplated her drink. “I can’t drink. I never dated a villain.”

“Villains and assholes,” he corrected, leaning toward her and holding his drink toward her conspiratorially.

Marinette immediately brightened and raised her glass, clinking it against his. “ _That_ I’ve done.” She downed the shot quickly and winced at the burn down her throat. “Almost exclusively lately.”

Roy poured another shot for her and turned on the television to hopefully distract her from getting too bad of a hangover tomorrow. The move had questionable success. The drinking slowed, but didn’t stop. Instead the distraction seemed to give her more time to think. Her previously jovial mood had become much more contemplative and quiet. Finally, after a few more slow shots she over up at him, an introspective frown pulling the corners of her lips down. “Is it me?”

Roy whipped his head back to her as though he hadn’t been studying her in his peripheral vision the entire time anyway. “What?”

“Is it me,” she repeated, staring at the coffee table. “Am I the problem? Is that why I can’t find a good relationship?” She gasped as a sudden realization hit her and turned to him. “Am I a bad kisser?”

She looked at him desperately causing him to freeze. He would give just about anything to be able to answer that question, but their relationship had never been like that, no matter how much he would like it to be. He turned away and focused on his drink instead. “I wouldn’t know,” he muttered.

“Kiss me!” She sat up straight on the couch and turned so her entire body faced him, an excited look on her face.

“What?”

“Kiss me. Tell me honestly if I’m a bad kisser.” Roy stared at her, mouth hanging open for a few seconds. Marinette’s face slowly morphed from excited to horrified to sad. “Never mind. You don’t want to do that. That was a stupid id…”

Roy launched at her before she could finish the sentence, crashing his lips into hers. If this was the only chance he was going to have to kiss her, he was going to make it worth it. He worked his hand behind her head, pulling her close. His other hand cupped her face as his lips slid against hers. She whimpered into his lips and ran her tongue along his lower lip. He gladly granted her access and moved his head to deepen the kiss. She melted into him and wound her hands around his shoulders to pull him closer then moved them to cradle his face.

They finally pulled apart after a few minutes, gasping for breath. When her breath had evened out she looked up at him questioningly. “Well?” she quietly breathed out. 

He stared at her still too dazed to form words. He blinked a few times still trying to process her words. “Huh?”

She backed away from him as far as the couch would allow and looked down sadly. “Was it that bad?”

He blinked a few more times. The words still weren’t registering. That was one of, if not _the_ best kiss he’d ever had and his heart still hadn’t returned to its regular rhythm. He looked away as he remembered. That’s right. This didn’t mean anything to her. It wasn’t about him. She didn’t love him. This was about helping her figure out how to keep someone she did love. He shook his head to try to focus on her question. “It was…” he turned to his drink and filled it again. “It’s not your kissing,” he reassured her bitterly.

Marinette sat back proudly and filled her glass for a celebratory drink. “Thanks. You’re really good too. I mean you didn’t say I was _really_ good, but _you_ are.”

He flushed red and kept his focus on the drink and the television. This wasn’t about him. This was about her, helping her get over her latest loser and ready to find the next one.

Marinette watched the television with him for another little while, her proud smile slowly morphing into a contemplative frown. “So it’s just me then. My personality that drives them away.”

Roy sighed and cursed his luck to be the one she came to tonight. Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to be the one she came to so she could recover and get back out into the field and date yet another asshole who didn’t appreciate her? “Maybe it’s just like you said. You’re looking in the wrong places.”

“Where should I look instead?” she asked with such earnestness in her eyes it hurt him not to answer her.

“How about right fucking next to you,” he grumbled under his breath, not trying to be heard.

She looked on either side of her and frowned, her brow creasing in melancholy. “It’s empty.” She looked up at him with glassy eyes. “You think I should be alone?”

“What?” he exclaimed. That was most definitely _not_ what he had meant. How is that even what she got out of that? “No! No, I… I meant… never mind.” He gave an exasperated sigh and took another drink.

She watched him for a few moments like she was contemplating him or his words. She suddenly gasped again and shot forward, her eyes huge. “What if I’m bad at sex?” Roy stopped breathing and kept his eyes decidedly focused on the television. He clamped his mouth shut to keep himself from repeating the refrain that kept running through his head. Please ask my opinion. Please ask my opinion. Please ask my opinion.

Just as quickly as she shot forward, she slumped back against the cushions. “No, most of my relationships never got that far. That couldn’t be it.”

Roy huffed out an annoyed breath. “Of fucking course we don’t need to test that one. Fucking annoying,” he muttered under his breath, taking another drink and quickly filling his glass for another.

“What?” she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“I said you’re annoying,” Roy shot back without thinking, downing the other shot.

Marinette looked away and chuckled bitterly. “Well, that answers the personality question, I guess.” She took another shot and leaned back against the couch to focus on the television. “Don’t annoying people deserve love too? I just want to fall in love and have them love me back. Is that too much to ask?”

Roy winced at her tone. He hadn’t meant to say she was annoying. Not really. He just needed something to say as cover for what he actually did say. It was something he would say normally and she’d laugh, tell him to fuck off. But now, she was not in the mood and he should have known that. He watched her as she pretended to focus on the television, wanting desperately to be able to run his fingers over the creases in her brow to smooth them out, to ease her pain, make her smile. “No,” he answered quietly, “it isn’t too much. You deserve it.”

She looked over at him and quickly looked down shyly. “Thank you. So do you.”

He scoffed and poured himself another drink. “We both know that’s not true.”

“Hey,” she reached out to stop his arm from lifting his drink to his lips. “It absolutely is. You deserve so much and you don’t even see it.” She lowered her hand and shook her head. “You’re an idiot.”

He let out a bitter laugh and downed the shot. “Thanks. I know.”

“Because you don’t realize how amazing you are,” she continued. “You’re creative and loyal and smart, God so smart, and brave and kind and hot and sweet and…”she stopped herself and suddenly backed away again, pouring herself another shot. “I hate love.” She downed the shot, refusing to look in his direction. “It only causes pain.”

He blinked at her a few times. Had she meant that about him? And why did she transition from talking about him to taking about love? “Marinette?”

“Yes?”

She looked at him with her big, beautiful, blue eyes. He could almost fool himself into believing he saw adoration in her eyes. “How drunk are you?”

She scoffed at him this time. “Not enough. Still capable of rational, lucid decision making. Clearly, need more liquor so I don’t have to think anymore, can’t remember anymore.” 

He watched her avoid his eyes, pretending like she was okay. And she was pretending. He was the world’s foremost expert on pretending. He knew the signs. “Mari, those people are idiots to not want to be with you, to not want to spend as much time as possible with you, for not realizing how incredible you are.”

“But… you said I was annoying,” she said quietly. She looked up at him with uncertainty and vulnerability radiating from her. He couldn’t let that continue.

“Marinette,” he started, taking a deep breath to prepare himself for ruining their friendship. He moved so he was kneeling on the floor in front of her. “You are annoying. Your smile is annoying because it’s so bright and blinding. Your laugh is annoying because it's light and bright and makes the entire mood lighter. Your huge heart is annoying because it puts you and your heart in danger ALL the time. Your eyes are annoying because they’re clear and kind and make the people seeing them feel hopeful. Your lips are annoying because they’re plump and soft looking. Your kiss is annoying because it was warm and mind-blowing. It’s all annoying because it isn’t meant for me. That’s what makes it annoying.” He cradled her head in his hands and gently ran his thumbs over her cheeks. He furrowed his brow and gave her a desperate look. “Can we play pretend for tonight? Pretend we love each other? Make each other’s pain go away for a night.”

“I don’t want to pretend,” she whispered, moving closer to him until her breath was fanning out over his face.

He shook his head and angled his head to a better position. “I don’t have to.” His voice had turned husky and barely audible.

“Neither do I.” She pushed the last few centimeters to close the gap between them and capture his lips with her own.

<><><><><>

Roy moaned as the light hit his eyes. Usually the light didn’t get him unless he’d slept into the late, late morning. He turned over, trying to find respite from the light. He moved slowly so he wouldn’t wake up Marinette. His eyes flew open and he shot up. Marinette! That’s why he had slept late enough for the light to hit him. He and Marinette had kept each other awake until the early morning.

He looked over to the other side of the bed to see how she felt now that the alcohol had worn off. The bed was empty. They’d fallen asleep with his arms around her and her nuzzling into his chest. But Marinette was gone. He groaned and collapsed back onto the bed. He ran his hand over his face and into his hair. She left. Shit he ruined everything. She woke up, realized how much of a fuck up he is, and got the fuck out as quickly as she could.

He never should have let them sleep together last night, let alone repeatedly. She wasn’t in her right mind. He hadn’t been either, but he should have waited and now he’d ruined their friendship. He jumped at his phone when it started ringing. Maybe she was calling. That was perfect. They could talk about this and figure out where they were, hopefully, if he begged and promised never to look at her again, they could get back to friends.

He almost threw the phone when he saw it was Jason. “What do you want?” he demanded rougher than Jason deserved. But then again, he had almost definitely done something at some point to deserve it.

“Where are you?” Jason demanded back, rougher than Roy had been.

“In my apartment. Where are you?” Roy asked petulantly.

“In the garage where you’re supposed to be, asshole,” Jason answered shortly.

Fuck! Roy looked at the clock. It was after ten. He was supposed to meet Jason to work on his bike. He groaned. This day just kept getting better and fucking better. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, leaning his elbows on his knees to cradle his head. “Sorry. I’m not making it today.”

“What the fuck, jackass? What am I supposed to do about my bike?” Jason yelled.

Roy sighed and ran his hand over his face again. Jason needed his bike for a job. He didn’t have time to wait for Roy to get his act together. “Sorry. I… yeah, fine. I’ll get there in a little bit.”

“Hurry the fuck up,” Jason growled at him.

“Yeah, okay,” Roy answered quietly.

The line went silent for a few moments. Roy almost tossed his phone at the call ending but Jason finally spoke up again. “What’s with you?”

“Nothing. I’ll get there when I get there,” Roy promised already starting to get up.

“Bullshit. You’re acting funny. What happened?”

Roy fell back to sit on the edge of the bed again. “I… I fucked up.”

“What’s fucking new?” Jason scoffed.

Roy shook his head and looked longingly at the wall. If he was closer, he could hit his head into it a few times, really drive the pain home. “I really fucked up this time.”

“Okay…” Jason prompted him.

“I slept with Marinette last night,” Roy groaned out.

“Fucking finally!” Jason cheered. “Fine, you two… wait, what do you mean fucked up? What did you do?”

“I told you I slept with her. I… we were drunk. I shouldn’t have slept with her. Fuck. I ruined everything. She’s going to hate me.”

“Pixie’s not going to hate you. What did she say this morning?”

“She left before I woke up.” He chuckled bitterly. “She always was the smart one. Got out as quickly as she could.”

“Okay, grab something to eat, take a shower, get here when you get here. I’ve got to make a call.” The line cut off quickly.

Roy pulled on some underwear and pajama bottoms and tucked his phone into the pocket. He made his way to the kitchen to start coffee. Today was definitely a multiple cups of coffee day. He was going to need lots of coffee to deal with this day. Maybe he could take a few extra thermoses of coffee with him to the garage. He just got to the kitchen when his phone started ringing again. His brow furrowed in confusion when he looked at his phone and realized his screen was still black. He jumped back when he heard a groan from the couch.

“What do you want, Jay?” Marinette croaked out sleepily. She sat up slowly, rubbing her hand over her face. “Why do you want to know where…” she paused to let him speak. Her eyes widened in surprise. “How did you…” She looked around her and squeaked when she saw Roy staring at her, frozen in uncertainty. She gave Roy a timid wave and an awkward smile. “No I’m… I… uh… still here. I just moved to the couch.”

She turned away quickly and hunched over her phone. “I will,” she tried to whisper into the phone. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “We both know you’re not going to kick my ass…” she sat straight up suddenly and glanced back at Roy for a second before turning away again. “Yes, yes. Fine. I got it. Just stop threatening him,” she whisper shouted into the phone. “I’ll tell him…” she paused again. “I don’t know if there’s anything to congr…” she stopped when he cut her off. “I’ll try not to. Thanks, Jay.” 

She ended the call and took a deep breath before standing to face Roy. “Hi,” she said shyly, waving at him again, slowly making her way around the couch to the same side as him. “Jay said not to worry about the garage?”

“You’re still here,” he observed breathlessly, ignoring Jason’s message.

“I… You mentioned a while ago that Lian sometimes still crawls into bed with you in the mornings. We hadn’t discussed what this,” she motioned between them, “meant and I didn’t want her to find me there if this wasn’t going anywhere.” She looked away and hugged her arms around herself. “Sorry, I should have left but I didn’t want to call someone to pick me up and have to talk about it with them and I wasn’t in any condition to make it home on my own and cabs in this town, you know, it’s hit or miss.”

“No, I’m glad you stayed. I thought…” he paused, cutting himself off and felt his lips spread into a goofy smile. “You stayed.”

“I stayed,” she confirmed with a tentative smile. Her eyes darted behind him and returned to him, her face becoming serious. “I can go now though, before she wakes up. I’m sober enough now.”

He shook his head as he walked over to her, stopping just in front of her close enough for him to reach over and touch her, but he restrained himself. He wasn’t sure how she felt about last night and he didn’t want to presume. “Lian isn’t here. Remember? She was with Oliver and Dinah yesterday and I’m picking her up at dinner tonight.”

“Oh… right… that”s… yeah, you told me that. Drunk me didn’t remember that,” she hit her hand on her head and gave him a sheepish smile.

He chuckled and started to reach out toward her but pulled his hand back just before it touched her as he realized what might be causing her resistance. “Unless you were looking for an excuse to get away. We can pretend she’ll be coming out any second,” he offered quietly.

Marinette shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes on Roy. “I’m not. I just didn’t want to confuse or upset Lian.”

Roy chuckled and leaned against the back of the couch close to Marinette. “Finding you in our apartment or even in my bed wouldn’t upset Lian. She loves you. She asks for you to stay over all the time. The only thing that might upset her is that you’re sleeping in my bed and not having a sleepover with her.”

Marinette gave him a relieved smile and leaned against the couch too. “I guess I can schedule some sleepovers with her. We can have some girl time.”

“And what about me?” Roy asked hopefully.

“Do you want me to have sleepovers with you too?” She asked uncertainly, like she was looking for confirmation that it was something he would be okay with, let alone want. As though he would ever say no to her. Like he was more worthy than her. 

He mentally scoffed at the very idea. She was the prize. She was the amazing one. She always had been. She was a goddess and he was just him. A screw up who tried his hardest and still screwed up everything he touched. He kept falling, kept failing and Marinette shined. She didn’t even have to work at it but she still did. God, he loved her. And she was staring at him like he was deserving and he really wanted to be.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her between his legs. “God, please yes.” She let out a shuddering, relieved breath and melted into his embrace, hugging him back tightly. She pulled away just enough to look up at him with a loving smile. He cupped her face with his hand and looked over her face studying it in awe until he bent down to kiss her slowly. He pulled away too soon for Marinette’s liking. “I just wanted to do that sober.”

“As good as you remember?” she asked with a hopeful smile.

“Better,” he smiled back at her and brushed her bangs away from her face, returning his hand to cup her jaw. “I’ve wanted to do that since I met you.”

She laid her hand on top of his. Her eyes shined up at him. “I’ve been waiting for you to.” She wound her other hand behind his neck and pulled him down to her lips, capturing them in a passionate, desperate kiss. His arm tightened against her waist, pulling her closer and holding her flush against him with one hand. His other hand ghosted over her neck and down her side and back up again, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. Her fingers moved to trace the lines of his muscles on his abdomen, chest, and arms.

She whined as he pulled away from her, but squeaked when he picked her up by her thighs to straddle him, walking them back toward the bedroom. “Let’s start that sleepover now,” he whispered huskily against her lips. She giggled and pulled herself up to kiss up his neck and nibble on his ear as he struggled to focus on making it to the bed without falling.


End file.
